Where Does All the Time Go?

It often seems as if our time is limited by things beyond our control. However we urge you to consider performing a detailed self-analysis of where you are spending your time. Is it really on the high priority, high return issues? Can some tasks be delegated to others? Is this a learning opportunity for your staff?

In this Security Barometer we are investigating where security and risk management practitioners are spending their time. How do the results shown below compare to your own time management practice?

Time spent defining strategy or planning activities is generally thought to be important. The key is to identifying ways to perform this activity in a valuable and cost effective manner.

Meetings get a bad rap, sometimes deservedly so. Make sure the meetings you attend have a well defined purpose / goal.

Evaluate the tasks that make up the bulk of your day-to-day activities. Look for opportunities to make the task more efficient or delegate to others.

It is interesting to note that on average most practitioners seem to spend about as much time fighting fires as they do in planning activities presumably undertaken to address future crises. When debriefing, identify ways to mitigate future occurrences of the crisis.

Finding Time

One of the time savers covered in the article is the wise use of existing open-source materials. A representative list of websites that provide downloadable policy template, assessments, standards and guidelines relating to topics of interest to security and risk management professionals is available here.